Collapsible basket



April 5, 1933. D. MILLER 1,906,173

COLLAPS IBLE BASKET Filed Nov. 14, 1929 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 25, 1933 rmvm- MZlILLER, or oon imw Your 5 .ooLLusrBLE BASKET ,dpplication filed mama. 14,1929. Serial No. .4o7,174.

This inventionrelates to hampers or baskets such as areiusediin bakeries,laundries and the like for'jthe purpose of transporting bread and soon. i

The general obj ect of this invention to provide a hamper or container which is simple in construction'and strongly built, and

which may, be easily collapsed whennot in use so as to take up 'as little spaceas possible and provide for ease in handling when empty.

is quite customaryfin certain linesof businessv such as bakeries andlaundries to large hampers forthe purpose of holding bread, clothes or the like while in process of transferring from oneplace to'another. Such hampers are commonly of cumbersome and bulky construction, inconvenient and difficult to handle, and/or consumptive of expensive space when empty, during storage 20 ortr'ansportation. l j e U It is the general purpose of the present invention tofpr'ovidea collapsible hamperor basket, particularly 'adapted for bakeries, which is constructed of avery strong metal frame which is designed to be collapsible, which when extended ready for use rigid and sturdy in its construction and is not readily distorted out of shape by thecontents, and which maybe fairly describedas automatically, or at least semi-automatically, and certainly practically instantaneously, opened or expanded by a single manual pull against the dead-weight of certain parts and hence against gravity.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be hereinafter specifically pointed out, or will become apparent, as the specification proceeds.

With the above indicated objects in view, the invention resides in certain novel construction and combinations and arrangement of parts, clearly described in the following specification and fully illustrated in the accompanying drawing, which latter shows an embodiment of the invention as at present preferred.

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a hamper embodying the invention, the hamper being shown in collapsed position.

Fig. 2 is a vertical side elevation in which thebroken lines represent the folded or collapsed positionsof the framing elements of the hamper. j I i F ig. dis a detail. View partly in section illustrating the construction of the corners :5

and the supporting skids. a

The numeral 1 represents a rectan ular frame forming the upper portion o? the hamper and, as best shown inFig, 1, isconstructed of four members joined at'the corners by means of suitable corner plates which,

as will be seen, are firmly riveted to the members 1. The members l forming the frame may, for sake of "lightness and strength, he composed of angle iron which permits the frame to be rigid and sturdy and yet is light in weight Asimilar frame 2 isprovided which may be identical in construction'with the fram'e'l and formsthebottom portion of the hamper. The lower frame 2 may, if desired, be formed of a sheet of metal: with the edges bent upwardly at an angle to form a stiffening rib and at thesame time provide the hamper with a bottom. If preferred the lower frame may be composed of simple angle iron members between which is stretched a suitable fabric such jas heavy canvas, but preferably, for deadweight?purposes, the lower frame 2 has riveted thereon as shown a sheet metal, say galvanized iron,bottom plate, or basket bottom, 2. 1

At each corner of the frame 2 there isprovided a corner piece 3 whichserves to join the members forming the frame2and at the same time provides apivot supportfor an arm 4. which is adaptedto fold down against the frame2. 2 of the arms Isis-pivoted at thepoint 5 to a similar arm 6 which is pivoted to the corner piece which serves to jointhe ends of the members forming the'frame 1. I

Each of the arms 6 is. provided with an extension projecting somewhat further than the pivot 5' and at 8 is pivoted to. a tubular member 9 within, which slides a rod 10, the otherend of which is pivoted to a projection or extension of'one of-"theother arms '6 in exactly the same manner as the first mentioned arm 6 was pivoted at "the point 8 to. the

tubular member 9. 1

The rod 10 is adapted to slide within the tubular member 9 and when the basket is extended ready for use, is firmly held with the arms 4 and 6 in a substantially vertical direction by means which include a notch 11 in the rod 10 in which projects a. gravity or spring urged pawl 12 carried by the tubular member'9. Both of the long sides of the hamper are constructed in the manner just rod which extends from one side of the hamper to the other forming a bail in combination with the arms 6.

Fig. 2 shows the construction just described very plainlyand it is to be understood that the side opposite that shown in Figure 2 is constructed in an identical mannerand for an identical purpose. It will be quite clear from a study of Fig. 2'that the arms 4 and 6' form a linkage which when straightened out serves to support the upper frame 1 and provides a rigid crate or hamper or basket which is sturdy in construction and not easily distorted or twisted out of shape.

' When it is desired to use the collapsed and folded hamper it is merely necessary to grasp the handles 13 which are provided at each end of the upper frame 1 and lift the upper frame bodily. The'weight of the lower frame or bottom 2 will be so great. that the links 4 and 6 will become straightened out and the rod 10 will be drawn from within the tubular member 9 until the notch 11 comes under the nose of the pawl 12 whereupon the spring or weight of the tail end of'the pawl will cause the pawl to enter the notch, preventing the rod from returning to its former position unless the pawl is released manually. While the pawl 12 may be adaptweight of its tail, it is considered more practical to provide a spring for thepurpose'as the pawl would be subjectto considerable jarring owing to the roughness to whichsuch hampers are frequently subjected. The rod 8 comprising the pivot joint between the tubular members 9 and the arm 6 serves the double purpose of increasing the rigidity of 0 the frame-work and at the same time has the ":1 efiect of causing the fabric with which the hamper is linedto assume a smooth crease as at 14, Fig. 1, thus making it possible to fold the hamper very effectively without the danger of wadding up the fabric lining The fabric lining 15 is preferably fastened to the upper and lower frames 1 and 2 on the inside of the frames so that the fabric 0 lies on. the inside of'the hamper with respect to the collapsible frame-work. This construction makes it possible. to use such hampers as containers for loaves of bread which might be contaminated by contact with the metalframework.

For the purpose of facilitating dragging described and the pivots 8 are formed by a the hamper along the floor, the hamper may be provided with suitable skids 16, Fig. 3, which as shown in this view, comprise suitable half round strips screwed to the underside of the frame 2 at the right and left edges respectively, as viewed in Fig. 2. If desired suitable casters might be used in place of the skids.

The hereinbefore described construction admits'of considerable modification without departing from the invention; therefore, I do not wish to be limited to the precise arrangements shown and described, which are,

as aforesaid, by way of illustration merely. In other words, the scope of protection comtemplated is to be taken solely from the appended claims, interpreted as broadly as is consistent with the prior art.

What is claimed as new, is:

1. A hamper of the character described;

comprising a rigid base frame, foldable members atthe corners of the base frame, a rigid top frame, foldable members at the corners ofthe top frame, pivots connecting the members together ofthe respective frame, inwardly curved ends on the members of the top frame, interfitted extensible connectlons pivoted to said inwardly curved end, and means latching said extensible connectlons together.

2. A hamper of the character described comprising a rigid base frame, foldable members at the corners of the base frame, a rigid top frame, foldable members at the corners of the top frame, pivots connecting the members together of the respective frame, inwardly curved ends on the members of the top. frame, interfitted extensible connections pivoted to said inwardly curved end, means latchingsaid extensible connections together,

signature.

' DAVID MILLER. 

